Last month Rochester was visited by Victor Hwang, a Silicon Valley-based venture capitalist and author that writes about entrepreneurial ecosystems. During a keynote address, Victor discussed what makes Silicon Valley special and how communities such as Rochester could try to emulate the qualities that serve as a catalyst for so much innovation.

He mainly focused on the primacy of culture, and how certain community-wide cultural traits serve as a form of "invisible infrastructure" for catalyzing entrepreneurial success and dynamism.

In some ways, the 7 unwritten rules seem quite obvious:

1) Break rules and dream (don't be bound by precedent)

2) Open doors and listen (don't tune out "the kid wearing a hoodie")

3) Trust and be trusted (extend trust first - don't be worried about getting burned)

4) Seek fairness not advantage (assume and ensure fairness; share)

5) Experiment and iterate together (always try out new things)

6) Err, fail and persist (failure is key to entrepreneurship)

7) Pay it forward (give favors without worrying about reciprocity)

Again, at first blush they seem too simple to be relevant. And yet, they are more nuanced and profound when you really think about them. And especially when you contrast them - as Victor did in his speech - to what are the unwritten rules of communities that are focused on production rather than innovation, as Rochester has been historically.

For those interested in trying to help Rochester blossom as a hub for entrepreneurship and innovation, I strongly recommend you watch Victor's speech: http://youtu.be/LKWVyUIE4ZA

And I look forward to building a world class invisible infrastructure with all of you for our beloved Rochester.